MIT Study Shows Gains For Women Faculty In Science And Engineering. Learning Process

MIT Study Shows Gains For Women Faculty In Science And Engineering.

Written on March 19, 2011 – 1:27 pm | by Justin Fraser

A report released today on the status of female professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows significant progress since the topic was first studied in 1999, but also found that major problems still exist in terms of gender parity at the institution.

MIT attracted nationwide attention in 1999 with its first evaluation that documented inequities in the hiring and support of female professors in the schools of engineering and science.

According to the report, many of the women who were part of the 1999 report noted many significant changes, such as an “increase in the number of women Science faculty, more equitable resource and salary distribution, and the increase of women in senior administrative positions”.

Faculty interviewed for the report say they’re concerned that colleagues have the false belief that women are being hired and promoted without meeting the same criteria as men, which can detract from the respect female professors receive.

Also at issue is the loss of research and consultancy time female faculty now have due to committee work.

Another thorny issue: female faculty being continually asked to speak at campus panels about the career-family balancing act. Study participants said they’re frustrated that parenthood remains a women’s issue, rather than a family one.

“To women in my generation, these residual issues can sound small because we see so much progress,” said Nancy H. Hopkins, a molecular biologist who instigated the first report, according to The New York Times. “But they’re not small; they still create an unequal playing field for women – not just at universities, and certainly not just at M.I.T. And they’re harder to change because they are a reflection of where women stand in society.”

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